>> reporter: well, if president morsi backs down now, that will be a big loss of prestige for him. but his opponents are clearly equally determined. and what that leaves us with is a stalemate and deep divisions in egypt's young democracy. >> pelley: a long way to go yet, holly, thank you very much. nearby in the middle east, the syrian dictatorship has been fighting for nearly a year and a half to put down a popular rebellion. 40,000 syrians are dead. it is rare for reporters to get into the battle zone, but our elizabeth palmer managed to make her way to the city of homs, one of the first places to rebel. more than half a million people lived there, but have a look at it now. it now. >> reporter: here's what's left when the battle moves on. just over a year ago, these desolate streets hummed with life. baby amr was a bustling ne babr amr was a bustling neighborhood until suddenly it turned into the epicenter of syria's civil war. armed opposition gunmen against the syrian military machine. after months of ferocious fighting, the syrian army did manage to take back babr amr, but a